Information processing method and apparatus and medium

ABSTRACT

An information processing method and apparatus are disclosed. The drawing information including at least the information including at least one object that can be displayed, the information pertinent to the size in the line direction and in the line feed direction of the object, and the layout-related information, is analyzed, the coordinate information pertinent to a display start position of the object in a drawing area is acquired based on the analyzed result, the coordinate information pertinent to the display start position is converted based on the layout-related information acquired by the results of analysis and the converted coordinate information pertinent to the display start position is converted into the real drawing coordinate information on the drawing area.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to an information processing method andapparatus and to a medium used in the method and apparatus. Moreparticularly, it relates to an information processing method andapparatus for processing an object that can be displayed, and to amedium used in the method and apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium: http://www.w3.org), which isan organization for standardization pertinent to WWW (World Wide Web)technology, provides for the descriptive language for representingstructured documents, such as CSSI (Cascading Style Sheets, level1:http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS1) or CSS2(http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2).

[0003] Typical of the descriptive languages for structured documents areHTML (HyperText Markup Language), SGML (Standard Generalization MarkupLanguage) and XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Of these, XML featuresthe user being able to define tags as necessary, in distinction fromHTML allowing for use only of predefined tags.

[0004] The above-mentioned customary descriptive languages are alldesigned on the basis of documents written in horizontal array, andhence may be difficult to use in vertically arrayed texts, such as thosewritten in Japanese or Chinese. For example, if it is desired torepresent the vertically arrayed document in “upward-justified” style, acommand for “left justification” needs to be used as a command, despitethe fact that the conventional descriptive language based on thehorizontally arrayed text “upward-justifies” the vertically justifiedtext, thus imposing difficulties in understanding on the user.

[0005] There is a layout descriptive command specialized in verticaltext arrangement, such as “upward justification” or “downwardjustification”. However, if this command is used, mere attempt torepresent the structured document in horizontal text arrangement leadsto the necessity for re-writing the totality of the layout-relatedinformation.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide aninformation processing method and apparatus and a medium whereby thelayout of objects, such as characters or characters, figures or symbolsused in a computer may be readily changed, that is a command textintelligible to the user may be used for both the vertically arrayedtext and horizontally arrayed text, and the vertically arrayed text canbe easily converted to the horizontally arrayed text and vice versa.

[0007] In one aspect, the present invention provides an informationprocessing method including analyzing the drawing information at leastincluding the information of at least one object that can be displayedand the layout designating information for specifying a relativeposition direction with respect to the direction of arranging theobject, determining a relative placing position of the object in adesired drawing area based on the layout definition informationcorresponding to the layout designating information obtained on analysisof the drawing information and generating the real display positioninformation corresponding to the relative placing position of the objectresponsive to the arranging direction.

[0008] In another aspect, the present invention provides an informationprocessing apparatus including means for analyzing the drawinginformation at least including the information of at least one objectthat can be displayed and the layout designating information forspecifying a relative position direction with respect to the directionof arranging the object, means for determining a relative placingposition of the object in a desired drawing area based on the layoutdefinition information corresponding to the layout designatinginformation obtained on the analysis of the drawing information andmeans for generating the real display position information correspondingto the relative placing position of the object responsive to thearranging direction.

[0009] In still another aspect, the present invention provides aninformation processing method including generating the information of atleast one object that can be displayed, generating the layoutdesignating information specifying the relative position direction withrespect to the arranging direction of the object, and generating thedrawing information at least including the object information and thelayout designating information.

[0010] In still another aspect, the present invention provides aninformation processing apparatus including means for generating theinformation of at least one object that can be displayed, means forgenerating the layout designating information specifying the relativeposition direction with respect to the arranging direction of the objectand means for generating the drawing information at least including theobject information and the layout designating information.

[0011] In still another aspect, the present invention provides a mediumfor causing an information processing apparatus to execute a programincluding analyzing the drawing information at least including theinformation of at least one object that can be displayed and the layoutdesignating information for specifying a relative position directionwith respect to the direction of arranging the object, determining arelative placing position of the object in a desired drawing area basedon the layout definition information corresponding to the layoutdesignating information obtained on analysis of the drawing informationand generating the real display position information corresponding tothe relative placing position of the object responsive to the arrangingdirection.

[0012] In still another aspect, the present invention provides aninformation processing method including analyzing the drawinginformation at least including the information containing at least oneobject that can be displayed, the information pertinent to the size ofthe object in the line direction and in the line feed direction and theinformation pertinent to the layout, acquiring the coordinateinformation pertinent to a display start position of the object in adrawing area based on the result of analysis, converting the coordinateinformation pertinent to the display start position based on thelayout-related information obtained by the result of the analysis andconverting the coordinate information pertinent to the converted displaystart position into the real drawing coordinate information on a drawingarea.

[0013] In still another aspect, the present invention provides aninformation processing method including capturing in storage means thedrawing information at least including the information containing atleast one object which has been transmitted and which can be displayed,the information pertinent to the size in the line direction and in theline feed direction of the object and the layout-related information,analyzing the drawing information stored in the storage means andacquiring the coordinate information pertinent to a display startposition of the object in a drawing area based on the result of theanalysis, converting the coordinate information pertinent to the displaystart position based on the layout-related information acquired by theresults of analysis and demonstrating the object on the display meansbased on the real drawing coordinate information.

[0014] In still another aspect, the present invention provides aninformation processing apparatus including means for receiving thedrawing information at least including the information containing atleast one object which has been transmitted and which can be displayed,the information pertinent to the size in the line direction and in theline feed direction of the object and the layout-related information,storage means for storing the drawing information received by thereceiving means, signal processing means for analyzing the drawinginformation read out from the storage means, acquiring the coordinateinformation pertinent to a display start position of the object in adrawing area based on the result of the analysis, converting thecoordinate information pertinent to the display start position based onthe layout-related information acquired by the results of analysis andfor converting the coordinate information pertinent to the converteddisplay start position into the real drawing coordinate information onthe drawing area of the display means and control means fordemonstrating the object on the display means based on the real drawingcoordinate information from the signal processing means.

[0015] In yet another aspect, the present invention provides aninformation processing apparatus including means for reading out thedrawing information from storage means storing the drawing information,the drawing information including at least the information containing atleast one object which has been transmitted and which can be displayed,the information pertinent to the size in the line direction and in theline feed direction of the object and the layout-related information,display means for displaying the object, signal processing means foranalyzing the drawing information read out from the storage means,acquiring the coordinate information pertinent to a display startposition of the object in a drawing area based on the result of theanalysis, converting the coordinate information pertinent to the displaystart position based on the layout-related information acquired by theresults of analysis and for converting the coordinate informationpertinent to the converted display start position into the real drawingcoordinate information on the drawing area of the display means andcontrol means for demonstrating the object on the display means based onthe real drawing coordinate information from the signal processingmeans.

[0016] Other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following description of preferredembodiments thereof and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017]FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate how relative locations are to bespecified in a structured document used in the present invention.

[0018]FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate layout designating commands ofalignment representation of aligning the leading end of a sentence in astructured document used in the present invention.

[0019]FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate layout designating commands ofalignment representation of aligning the trailing end of a sentence in astructured document used in the present invention.

[0020]FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate layout designating commands ofspecifying the margin at the leading end of the text in a structureddocument used in the present invention.

[0021]FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate layout designating commands ofspecifying the margin at the trailing end of the text in a structureddocument used in the present invention.

[0022]FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate layout designating commands ofspecifying a downward character shift in a structured document used inthe present invention.

[0023]FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate layout designating commands ofspecifying an upward character shift in a structured document used inthe present invention.

[0024]FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate the layout designating commands in caseof performing character decoration in the document.

[0025]FIG. 9 shows typical layout designation for a structured documentemploying a layout statement command used in the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 10 shows typical document representation incase thelayout-specified structured document shown in FIG. 9 is represented as ahorizontally arranged document.

[0027]FIG. 11 shows typical document representation in case thelayout-specified structured document shown in FIG. 9 is represented as avertically arranged document.

[0028]FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing flow in determininga “position in the line direction” of an object drawn by a drawingapparatus according to the present invention.

[0029]FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate the size in the line direction and inthe line feed direction of a drawing area, margin width in the leadingand trailing ends of a line, upward character shift worth and downwardcharacter shift width.

[0030]FIG. 14 illustrates the size in the line direction and in the linefeed direction.

[0031]FIG. 15 illustrates the real addresses on the actual displaywindow.

[0032]FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing flow in case apreferred embodiment of the drawing apparatus performs “margindesignation” for the structured document shown in FIG. 9.

[0033]FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing flow in case thepresent embodiment of the drawing apparatus performs “downward charactershifting” and “upward character shifting”.

[0034]FIG. 18 shows a flowchart showing the processing flow in case apreferred embodiment of a drawing apparatus draws a character anddecorates the character as necessary based on the structured documentshown in FIG. 9.

[0035]FIGS. 19A and 19B illustrate a drawing area for one character anda drawing position of a decorative object in case of a horizontallyarrayed text.

[0036]FIGS. 20A and 20B illustrate a drawing area for one character anda drawing position of a decorative object in case of a verticallyarrayed text.

[0037]FIG. 21 shows a system configuration in case of distributing anelectronic book using a structured document employed in the presentinvention.

[0038]FIG. 22 shows a schematic illustrative structure of a personalcomputer as a typical drawing apparatus embodying the present invention.

[0039]FIG. 23 shows a schematic illustrative structure of a terminaldedicated to electronic books embodying the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0040] Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention will be explained in detail.

[0041] First, in the present embodiment, position designation pertinentto statement of documents and the direction of representation, such as“leading end of a line”, “Trailing end of a line”, “upstream” or“downstream”, as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, is used for a given structureddocument. FIGS. 1A and 1B respectively show typical representations ofstructured documents arranged horizontally and vertically. Meanwhile,the layout commands, used in the drawings, state actually used pluralcommands in an abstract form.

[0042] That is, in structured documents by pre-existing descriptivelanguage which is based on the horizontal layout, such as theaforementioned HTML, SGML or XML, invariable position designation by“up”, “down”, “left” or “right”, herein termed absolute positiondesignation, is used, whereas, in horizontally arranged documents inwhich lines are fed from above to below and characters are fed from leftto right, as in English, the left side and the right sides are termedthe leading end and the trailing end of a line, respectively. In thepresent embodiment, the upper or front side of a sentence or characteris termed an “upstream” side, the lower side is termed a “downstream”side, by way of relative position designation, the direction of flowingof characters making up a sentence, that is the character proceedingdirection, is termed the line direction and the direction of flowing ofrespective lines, that is the line proceeding direction, is termed theline feed direction, as shown in FIG. 1A. More specifically, in the caseof a vertically arranged document in which the lines are fed from rightto left and characters are advanced from above towards below, as inJapanese text, upper and lower portions are designated “leading endline” and “trailing end line”, respectively, the right and left sideswith respect to a given text or character are termed “upstream” side and“downstream” side, respectively, the direction from above to below istermed the line direction and the direction from right to left is termedthe line feed direction. It is noted that, in the present embodiment,the direction designating method is basically represented by therelative direction with respect to the sentence or character, asdescribed above, however, it is also possible to designate the absolutedirection designation, such as by upper, lower, left or rightdirections.

[0043] Acting on the premises that the position designation is by theaforementioned relative position designation, the relative positiondesignation in case of designating various layout positions for thestructured documents shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is hereinafter explained.The following explanation is directed to “the case of aligning theleading end of a text (aligning representation)”“the case of aligningthe trailing end of a text (aligning representation)”, “the case ofspecifying the leading end margin of a text”, “the case of specifyingthe trailing end margin of a text”, “the case of specifying the downwardshift of a character in a document”, “the case of specifying the upwardshift of a character in a document” and “the case of decorating acharacter in a document” are explained as typical of the layout positiondesignation.

[0044] The aforementioned layout position designation is merelyillustrative, such that the present invention can adapt itself to anysuitable layout position designation. However, since it is not realisticto give the totality of possible layout position designations, theaforementioned exemplary layout position designation is given only byway of a representing example.

[0045] In the following explanation of the respective layout positiondesignations, layout description commands for pre-existing absoluteposition designation are also referred to by way of comparison with thelayout description commands for relative position designation accordingto the present invention. However, since the vertically arranged textinherently is not contemplated in the structured document by thepreexisting absolute position designation, the vertically arrangeddocument in the structured document by the pre-existing absoluteposition designation as later explained shows a layout describingcommand presumably used in the preparation of a vertically arrangeddocument by the pre-existing absolute position designation.

[0046] Referring first to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the layout describing commandin case of aligning the leading end of a text (aligning representation)is explained. FIGS. 2A and 2B show examples of representation of thevertically arranged structured document and the horizontally arrangedstructured document.

[0047] For example, if, in the horizontally arranged document, shown inFIG. 2A, the leading end of the document is to be aligned, the layoutdescribing command by the relative position designation of the presentembodiment is aligning at the leading line end, whereas that by thepre-existing absolute position designation is left alignment. On theother hand, if, in the vertically arranged document, shown in FIG. 2B,the leading end of the document is to be aligned, the layout describingcommand by the relative position designation of the present embodimentis aligning at the leading line end, whereas that by the pre-existingabsolute position designation is left alignment or upward alignment.

[0048] That is, if the leading end of a text is to be aligned, thelayout describing command by relative position designation of thepresent embodiment is “alignment at the leading line end” for both thehorizontally arranged document and the vertically arranged document,with the layout describing command not being changed. Moreover, theactual layout designating position is intuitively intelligible to a userno matter whether the text is arranged horizontally or vertically.Conversely, the preexisting layout describing command for absoluteposition designation is “left aligning” in case of a horizontallyarranged text, while being “left aligning” or “upward aligning” in caseof a vertically arranged text, so that, if “upward aligning” is used forthe vertically arranged text, the layout describing command differs forthe vertically arranged text or the horizontally arranged text, suchthat different layout describing commands need to be used for thevertically arranged text and for the horizontally arranged text.Moreover, if, in the case of the pre-existing layout describing commandfor absolute position designation, the layout describing command “leftaligning” is used for the vertically arranged text even though thecommand is for designating the leading end of the text, the actuallayout designating position is less intelligible on intuition to a user.

[0049] If, with the use of FIGS. 3A and 3B, the layout describingcommand in case of aligning the trailing end of the text (aligningrepresentation) is explained. FIGS. 3A and 3B show typicalrepresentation of a horizontally arranged structured document and avertically arranged structured document, respectively.

[0050] If, in the horizontally arranged document, shown in FIG. 3A, thetrailing end of the text is to be aligned, the layout describing commandfor specifying the relative position of the present embodiment is “lineend alignment”, whereas that for the preexisting absolute positiondesignation is “rightward aligning. On the other hand, if, in thevertically arranged document, shown in FIG. 3B, the trailing end of thetext is to be aligned, the layout describing command for specifying therelative position of the present embodiment is “line end alignment”,whereas that for the pre-existing absolute position designation is“rightward aligning” or “downward aligning”.

[0051] That is, if the trailing end of a text is to be aligned, thelayout describing command by relative position designation of thepresent embodiment is “alignment at the trailing line end” for both thehorizontally arranged document and the vertically arranged document,with the layout describing command not being changed. Moreover, theactual layout designating position is intuitively intelligible to a userno matter whether the text is arranged horizontally or vertically.Conversely, the preexisting layout describing command for absoluteposition designation is “right aligning” in case of a horizontallyarranged text, while being “right aligning” or “downward aligning” incase of a vertically arranged text, so that, if “downward aligning” isused for the vertically arranged text, the layout describing commanddiffers for the vertically arranged text or the horizontally arrangedtext, such that different layout describing commands need to be used forthe vertically arranged text and for the horizontally arranged text.Moreover, if, in the case of the pre-existing layout describing commandfor absolute position designation, the layout describing command “rightaligning” is used for the vertically arranged text even though thecommand is for designating the trailing end of the text, the actuallayout designating position is less intelligible on intuition to a user.

[0052] If, with the use of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the layout describingcommand in case of aligning the leading end of the text is explained.FIGS. 4A and 4B show typical representation of a horizontally arrangedstructured document and a vertically arranged structured document,respectively.

[0053] If, in the horizontally arranged document, shown in FIG. 4A, theleading end of the text is to be aligned, the layout describing commandfor specifying the relative position of the present embodiment is “linebeginning end alignment”, whereas that for the pre-existing absoluteposition designation is “leftward aligning”. On the other hand, if, inthe vertically arranged document, shown in FIG. 4B, the leading end ofthe text is to be aligned, the layout describing command for specifyingthe relative position of the present embodiment is “line beginning endalignment”, whereas that for the preexisting absolute positiondesignation is “rightward aligning” or “downward aligning”.

[0054] That is, if the leading end of a text is to be aligned, thelayout describing command by relative position designation of thepresent embodiment is “alignment at the leading line end” for both thehorizontally arranged document and the vertically arranged document,with the layout describing command not being changed. Moreover, theactual layout designating position is intuitively intelligible to a userno matter whether the text is arranged horizontally or vertically.Conversely, the preexisting layout describing command for absoluteposition designation is “left aligning” in case of a horizontallyarranged text, while being “left aligning” or “upward aligning” in caseof a vertically arranged text, so that, if “upward aligning” is used forthe vertically arranged text, the layout describing command differs forthe vertically arranged text or the horizontally arranged text, suchthat different layout describing commands need to be used for thevertically arranged text and for the horizontally arranged text.Moreover, if, in the case of the pre-existing layout describing commandfor absolute position designation, the layout describing command “leftaligning” is used for the vertically arranged text even though thecommand is for designating the leading end of the text, the actuallayout designating position is less intelligible on intuition to a user.

[0055] If, with the use of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the layout describingcommand in case of specifying the trailing end of the text is explained.FIGS. 5A and 5B show typical representation of a horizontally arrangedstructured document and a vertically arranged structured document,respectively.

[0056] If, in the horizontally arranged document, shown in FIG. 5A, thetrailing end of the text is to be aligned, the layout describing commandfor specifying the relative position of the present embodiment is “linetrailing end alignment”, whereas that for the pre-existing absoluteposition designation is “rightward aligning”. On the other hand, if, inthe vertically arranged document, shown in FIG. 5B, the trailing end ofthe text is to be aligned, the layout describing command for specifyingthe relative position of the present embodiment is “line trailing endalignment”, whereas that for the preexisting absolute positiondesignation is “rightward aligning” or “downward aligning”.

[0057] That is, if the margin at the trailing end of a text is to bespecified, the layout describing command by relative positiondesignation of the present embodiment is “margin at the trailing lineend” for both the horizontally arranged document and the verticallyarranged document, with the layout describing command not being changed.Moreover, the actual layout designating position is intuitivelyintelligible to a user no matter whether the text is arrangedhorizontally or vertically. Conversely, the preexisting layoutdescribing command for absolute position designation is “right margin”in case of a horizontally arranged text, while being “right margin” or“downward margin” in case of a vertically arranged text, so that, if“downward margin” is used for the vertically arranged text, the layoutdescribing command differs for the vertically arranged text or thehorizontally arranged text, such that different layout describingcommands need to be used for the vertically arranged text and for thehorizontally arranged text. Moreover, if, in the case of thepre-existing layout describing command for absolute positiondesignation, the layout describing command “right margin” is used forthe vertically arranged text even though the command is for designatingthe margin at the trailing end of the text, the actual layoutdesignating position is less intelligible on intuition to a user.

[0058] If, with the use of FIGS. 6A and 6B, the layout describingcommand in case of specifying downward character shift in a text isexplained. FIGS. 6A and 6B show typical representation of a horizontallyarranged structured document and a vertically arranged structureddocument, respectively.

[0059] If, in the horizontally arranged document, shown in FIG. 6A, thedownward character shift is to be specified, the layout describingcommand for specifying the relative position of the present embodimentis “downward character shift width”, whereas that for the pre-existingabsolute position designation specifies a command corresponding to thesum of the upward margin and the downward character shift width as being“left margin”. On the other hand, if, in the vertically arrangeddocument, shown in FIG. 6B, the downward shift of a character is to bespecified, the layout describing command for specifying the relativeposition of the present embodiment is the “downward character shift”,whereas the layout describing command of the pre-existing absoluteposition designation specifies a command corresponding to the sum of theupward margin and the downward character shift width as being “leftmargin”, or specifies a command corresponding to the sum of the upwardmargin and the downward character shift width as being “upper margin”.

[0060] That is, if the downward character shift is to be specified, thelayout describing command by relative position designation of thepresent embodiment is “downward character shift width” for both thehorizontally arranged document and the vertically arranged document,with the layout describing command not being changed. Moreover, theactual layout designating position is intuitively intelligible to a userno matter whether the text is arranged horizontally or vertically.Conversely, the preexisting layout describing command for absoluteposition designation specifies a command corresponding to the sum of theleft margin and the downward character shift width in case of ahorizontally arranged text as being the “left margin” or the “uppermargin”, so that, if “upward margin” is used for the vertically arrangedtext, the layout describing command differs for the vertically arrangedtext or the horizontally arranged text, such that different layoutdescribing commands need to be used for the vertically arranged text andfor the horizontally arranged text. Moreover, if, in the case of thepre-existing layout describing command for absolute positiondesignation, the layout describing command in which the commandcorresponding to the sum of the left margin and the downward charactershift width is the “left margin” is used in the vertically arrangedtext, the actual layout designating position is less intelligible onintuition to a user.

[0061] Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the layout describing command incase of specifying the an arbitrary upward shift of an arbitrarycharacter in a document is explained. FIGS. 7A and 7B show typicalrepresentation of a horizontally arranged structured document andtypical representation of a vertically arranged structured document.

[0062] If, in the horizontally arranged document, shown in FIG. 7A, theupward character shift is to be specified, the layout describing commandfor specifying the relative position of the present embodiment is“upward character shift width”, whereas that for the pre-existingabsolute position designation specifies a command corresponding to thesum of the leftward margin and the downward character shift width asbeing “right margin”. On the other hand, if, in the vertically arrangeddocument, shown in FIG. 7B, the upward shift of a character is to bespecified, the layout describing command for specifying the relativeposition of the present embodiment is “upward character shift width”,whereas the layout describing command of the pre-existing absoluteposition designation specifies a command corresponding to the sum of theupward margin and the upward character shift width as being “rightmargin”, or specifies a command corresponding to the sum of therightward margin and the upward character shift width as being “lowermargin”.

[0063] That is, if the upward character shift is to be specified, thelayout describing command by relative position designation of thepresent embodiment is “upward character shift width” for both thehorizontally arranged document and the vertically arranged document,with the layout describing command not being changed. Moreover, theactual layout designating position is intuitively intelligible to a userno matter whether the text is arranged horizontally or vertically.Conversely, the preexisting layout describing command for absoluteposition designation specifies a command corresponding to the sum of theright margin and the upward character shift width as being the “rightmargin” or the “lower margin”, so that, if the command corresponding tothe sum of the right margin and the upward character shift width is“lower margin” is used for the vertically arranged text, the layoutdescribing command differs for the vertically arranged text or thehorizontally arranged text, such that different layout describingcommands need to be used for the vertically arranged text and for thehorizontally arranged text. Moreover, if, in the case of thepre-existing layout describing command for absolute positiondesignation, the layout describing command “right margin” is used in thevertically arranged text, the actual layout designating position is lessintelligible on intuition to a user.

[0064] Referring to FIGS. 8A to 8C, the layout describing command fordecorating characters in a document is explained. FIGS. 8A to 8C show anexemplary horizontally arranged text, an exemplary vertically arrangedtext and an exemplary text comprised of a mixture of the vertically andhorizontally arranged texts. In these figures, emphasis points areappended to the characters as being typical decoration for characters.

[0065] Since the character decoration of affixing emphasis points tocharacters is not possible with the pre-existing layout describingcommand for specifying the absolute position, only the layout describingcommand for the present embodiment is here explained.

[0066] If, in the horizontally arranged text, shown in FIG. 8A, emphasispoints are to be appended to the characters, the layout describingcommand for specifying the relative position of the present embodimentis [<STYLE emphasis point position=“*”>], where * denotes an arbitrarycharacter string. On the other hand, if, in the vertically arrangedtext, shown in FIG. 8A, emphasis points are to be appended to thecharacters, the layout describing command for specifying the relativeposition of the present embodiment is [<STYLE emphasis pointposition=“*”>], where * denotes the emphasis point position. Similarly,if emphasis points are to be appended to the characters in a text wherevertically arranged sentences co-exist with the horizontally arrangedsentence, as shown in FIG. 8C, the layout describing command forspecifying the relative position of the present embodiment is [<STYLEemphasis point position=“*”>].

[0067] If the emphasis points are to be appended upstream of thecharacters, as in FIGS. 8A to 8C, that effect is indicated by [<STYLEemphasis point position=“upstream”>].

[0068] That is, in the present embodiment, the layout describing commandfor specifying the relative position in case of appending emphasispoints to the characters as decoration for characters is [<STYLEemphasis point position=“*”>], for both the vertically arranged text andfor the horizontally arranged text, with the layout describing commandnot being changed. Moreover, the actual layout designating position isintelligible on intuition to a user for both the vertically arrangedtext and for the horizontally arranged text.

[0069]FIG. 9 shows typical layout designation of a structured documentemploying the layout describing command of the present embodiment. FIGS.10 and 11 show exemplary document display in case the structureddocument layout-specified as shown in FIG. 9 is actually displayed e.g.,on a computer display. Specifically, FIGS. 10 and 11 show exemplarydisplay of the structured document, layout-specified as shown in FIG. 9and which has been arranged as a horizontally arranged text, andexemplary display of the structured document, layout-specified as shownin FIG. 9 and which has been arranged as a vertically arranged text,respectively. In the present embodiment, the structured document shownin FIG. 9 is described using XML featuring the user being able to definea tag as necessary on his or her own.

[0070] In FIG. 9, [<document, line beginning end margin=“2em”>]specifies providing a line beginning end margin by 2em, that is twofull-size characters, and constitutes one structured document from the[<document line beginning end margin=“2em”>] to the last “</document>”.

[0071] The [<title, line direction placing position=“line end”>] through[

(display of structured document)] to [</title>] specifies the placingposition for the title text. In the present embodiment, the placingposition is specified by matching the placing position in the linedirection of the title text [

(display of structured document)].

[0072] The document is placed from the [<paragraph>] to the first[</paragraph>]. In the present embodiment,

,

,

(what is particularly important in creating the structured document isto state contents not dependent on the layout)].

[0073] From [<paragraph character lowering width=“3em”>] through [<STYLEemphasis point position=“upstream”>

(difficult.) </STYLE>

(It is, however, . . . )] to the next [</paragraph>], it is specifiedthat the text [

(It is, however, difficult.)] is character-shifted by 3em, that is bythree full-size characters, and that emphasis points be affixed upstreamof respective characters [

(difficult)]. In the present embodiment, the text [

(It is, however, difficult.)] is character-shifted further by threefull-size characters from the line beginning end, specified previously.

[0074] If the layout-specified structured document is displayed ashorizontal arrangement, as in FIG. 9, the representation is as shown inFIG. 10. If the layout-specified structured document is displayed asvertical arrangement, as in FIG. 9, the representation is as shown inFIG. 11. More specifically, when the structured document,layout-specified as shown in FIG. 9, is represented as a horizontallyarranged document, the line beginning margin of full two character sizeis set and the title reading [

(display of structured document)] is placed at the line end, as shown inFIG. 10. The text reading [

. . . (what is particularly important in creating the structureddocument is . . . )] is placed downstream of the title text. The textreading [

(It is, however, difficult.)] is placed receded by three full-sizecharacters from the line beginning end margin, with emphasis pointsbeing added upstream of respective characters of [

(difficult)]. Similarly, when the structured document, layout-specifiedas shown in FIG. 9, is represented as a vertically arranged document,the line beginning margin of full two character size is set and thetitle reading [

(display of structured document] is placed at the line end. The textreading [

. . . (what is particularly important in creating the structureddocument is . . . )] is placed downstream of the title text. The textreading [

(It is, however, difficult.)] is placed receded by three full-sizecharacters from the line beginning end margin, with emphasis pointsbeing added upstream of respective characters of [

(difficult)]. Thus, with the present embodiment, the layout-specifiedstructured document shown in FIG. 9 is able to cope with both thevertically arranged text and the horizontally arranged text, and is alsointelligible to the user.

[0075] Referring to FIGS. 12 to 20, the processing flow in demonstratingthe structured document of FIG. 9 in a display in an actual drawingapparatus as the information processing apparatus is explained.

[0076]FIG. 12 shows the processing flow in determining the [linedirection placing position] of an object, such as sentence, symbol offigure, drawn by the drawing apparatus of the present invention, inaccordance with the structured document of FIG. 9.

[0077] In FIG. 12, the drawing apparatus executes structural analysis ofthe structured document by way of the processing st step S1.

[0078] At step S1, the drawing apparatus performs structural analysis incase of determining the [line direction placing position]. The drawingapparatus analyzes the line direction size W and the line feed directionsize H of the drawing area, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, whileacquiring the line direction size dw and the line feed direction size dhof the object to be drawn, as shown in FIG. 14.

[0079] Meanwhile, FIG. 13A shows the drawing area in case of thehorizontally arranged document, FIG. 13B shows the drawing area in caseof the vertically arranged document and FIG. 14 shows an object. In thedrawing area of the horizontally arranged document, shown in FIG. 13A,the arrow directions X and Y denote the line direction and the line feeddirection, respectively, while the size W and the size H denote the sizein the line direction and the size in the line feed direction,respectively. In the drawing area of the vertically arranged document,shown in FIG. 13B, the arrow directions X and Y denote the linedirection and the line feed direction, respectively, while the size Wand the size H denote the size in the line direction and the size in theline feed direction, respectively. Points P in FIGS. 13A and 13B denotepoints of origin of the drawing area. In the object being processed,shown in FIG. 14, the size dw and the size dh denote the size in theline direction and the size in the line feed direction, respectively.

[0080] When the drawing apparatus acquires the information of therespective sizes at step S2, it acquires at the next step S3 thecoordinate values from the point of origin P ((line direction and linefeed direction)=(X,Y)) as a display starting position of the objectbeing drawn.

[0081] The drawing apparatus then verifies, as processing at step S4,whether or not the line direction placing position of the object beingprocessed has been specified, based on the result of analysis of thestructured document. If it has been determined that the line directionplacing position has been specified, the drawing apparatus proceeds tothe processing at step S5 and, if otherwise, it proceeds to theprocessing at step S9.

[0082] At step S5, the drawing apparatus verifies whether the linedirection placing position of the object being processed specified is atthe line beginning end, line mid position or at the line trailing end.If the drawing apparatus has verified that the line direction placingposition specified is at the line beginning end, it proceeds toprocessing at step S6. If the drawing apparatus has verified that theline direction placing position specified is at the line mid position,it proceeds to processing at step S7 and, if the drawing apparatus hasverified that the line direction placing position specified is at theline end position, it proceeds to processing at step S8.

[0083] If the drawing apparatus has verified at step S5 that the linedirection placing position specified is the line beginning end, itproceeds to processing at step S9, without updating the X-coordinatevalue at step S6.

[0084] If the drawing apparatus has verified at step SS that the linedirection placing position specified is at the line mid position, andproceeds to processing at step S7, the drawing apparatus calculatesX=(W−dw)/2 and updates the calculated result as an X-coordinate value ofthe display start position of the object in process. The drawingapparatus then proceeds to processing at step S9.

[0085] If it is determined at step S5 that the line direction placingposition specified is at the line end and thus proceeds to step S8, thedrawing apparatus calculates X=W−dw and updates the calculated result asan X-coordinate value of the display start position of the object inprocess. The drawing apparatus then proceeds to processing at step S9.

[0086] At step S9, the drawing apparatus converts the coordinate values(X, Y) of the display start position of the object being processed intoa real address (real address value (x, y)) on a display window on thedisplay. That is, if the display window on the display has a range suchas one of a window 100 shown in FIG. 15, the drawing apparatus convertsthe coordinate value (X, Y) of the display start position of the objectin process into actual coordinate values (x, y) in a real possibledisplay area 101 in the window 100 indicated by dotted line in FIG. 15.If the object being processed is written horizontally, the drawingapparatus sets the coordinate values (X, Y) into real coordinate values(x, y), whereas, if the object being processed is written vertically, itconverts the coordinate values (H−X, Y) int real coordinate values (x,y).

[0087] As the processing at step S10, the drawing apparatus draws apicture of the object.

[0088] The drawing apparatus then sets the next drawing start position,as processing at step S11. The drawing apparatus then verifies, asprocessing at step S12, whether or not the entire display has beenfinished. If it finds that the display has not been finished, it revertsto the processing at step S2 and, if it finds that the display has beenfinished, the processing comes to a close.

[0089]FIG. 16 shows the processing flow when the drawing apparatus ofthe present embodiment specifies the margin, based on the structureddocument shown in FIG. 9.

[0090] In FIG. 16, the drawing apparatus first analyzes the structure ofthe structured document, as a processing at step S21.

[0091] By structural analysis in case of [specifying the margin], thedrawing apparatus acquires the size in the line direction W and the sizein the line feed direction H of the drawing area shown in FIG. 13.

[0092] When the drawing apparatus acquires the information on therespective sizes at step S22, it acquires the coordinate value from thepoint of origin P ((line direction, line feed direction)=(X,Y)) as adisplay start position of the object in process at the processing at thenext step S23.

[0093] The drawing apparatus then verifies, at the processing at stepS24, whether or not the line beginning end margin has been specifiedbased on the result of analysis of the structured document. If thedrawing apparatus has verified that the line beginning end margin hasbeen specified, it proceeds to processing at step S25 and, if otherwise,to step S26.

[0094] At the processing at step S25, the drawing apparatus calculatesX=X+a, where a is the width of the line beginning end margin shown inFIG. 13, and updates the calculated result as an X-coordinate value ofthe display start position, inclusive of the line beginning end marginwidth of the object being processed as the document. The drawingapparatus then proceeds to processing at step S26.

[0095] The drawing apparatus verifies whether or not the line end marginhas been specified as processing at step S26. If the drawing apparatushas verified that the line end margin has not been specified, itproceeds to processing at step S27 and, if otherwise, it proceeds toprocessing at step S28.

[0096] At step S27, the drawing apparatus calculates W=W−b, where b isthe width of the line end margin shown in FIG. 13. The drawing apparatusthen updates the results of calculation as being the size in the linedirection of the drawing area. The processing apparatus then proceeds toprocessing at step S28.

[0097] At step S28, the drawing apparatus converts the coordinate value(X, Y) of the display start position of the object being processed asthe document into real addresses (real address values (x,y)) on thedisplay window 100 on the display shown in FIG. 15. That is, the drawingapparatus converts the coordinate values (X, Y) of the display startposition of the object being processed as the document into realcoordinate values (x, y) in the real possible display range 101 in thedisplay window 100. Meanwhile, if the object being processed as thedocument is arranged horizontally, the drawing apparatus renders thecoordinate values (X, Y) into real coordinate values (x, y) and, if theobject being processed as the document is arranged vertically, thedrawing apparatus renders the coordinate values (H−X, Y) into realcoordinate values (x, y).

[0098] The drawing apparatus draws each object being processed in thedocument, by way of processing at step S29. For example, drawing ordemonstration is made on the display, as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A or5B, by the processing at step S29.

[0099] The drawing apparatus then sets the next drawing start position,as processing at step S30, and verifies, as processing at step S31,whether or not the entire display has been finished. If the drawingapparatus verifies that the display has not been finished, it reverts toprocessing at step S22 and, if otherwise, the processing is terminated.

[0100]FIG. 17 shows the processing flow in case the drawing apparatus ofthe present embodiment performs [shifting a character down] or [shiftinga character up] in the structured document shown in FIG. 9.

[0101] In FIG. 17, the drawing apparatus analyzes the structure of thestructured document as processing at step S41.

[0102] By the structural analysis in case of performing the [shifting acharacter down] or [shifting a character up], the drawing apparatus atstep S42 acquires the size in the line direction W and the size in theline feed direction H of the drawing area, the character shift-downwidth du or the character shift up width dv of an object directly aheadof the object being processed shown in FIG. 13. If the line beginningend margin is specified, the downward character shifting width du shownin FIG. 13 is the character shift-down width from the specified linebeginning end margin position, whereas, if the line trailing end marginis specified, the upward character shifting width dv shown in FIG. 13 isthe character shift-down width from the specified line trailing endmargin position.

[0103] When the drawing apparatus at step S42 has acquired theinformation on the above respective sizes and the widths, it acquires atthe next step S43 the coordinate values from the point of origin P((line direction and line feed direction)=(X, Y)), as the display startposition of the object being processed.

[0104] The drawing apparatus then verifies, at step S44, whether or notthe character shift-down has been designated for the object beingprocessed based on the results of analysis of the structured document.If the drawing apparatus has found that the character shift-down hasbeen designated, it proceeds to processing at step S45 and, ifotherwise, it proceeds to processing at step S46.

[0105] At step S45, the drawing apparatus calculates du=du+u, where u isa new character shift-down width, and X=X+du, and updates the result ofcalculation as an X-coordinate value of the display start positionincluding the character shift-down width of the object being processed.The drawing apparatus then proceeds to processing at step S46.

[0106] The drawing apparatus then verifies, at step S46, whether or notthe character shift-up has been designated for the object beingprocessed based on the results of analysis of the structured document.If the drawing apparatus has found that the character shift-up has beendesignated, it proceeds to processing at step S47 and, if otherwise, itproceeds to processing at step S48.

[0107] At step S47, the drawing apparatus calculates dv=dv+v, where v isa new character shift-up width, and X=X+dv, and updates the result ofcalculation as an X-coordinate value of the display start positionincluding the character shift-up width of the object being processed.The drawing apparatus then proceeds to processing at step S48.

[0108] At step S48, the drawing apparatus converts the coordinate value(X, Y) of the display start position of the object being processed asthe document into real addresses (real address values (x,y)) on thedisplay window 100 on the display shown in FIG. 15. That is, the drawingapparatus converts the coordinate values (X, Y) of the display startposition of the object being processed as the document into realcoordinate values (x, y) in the real possible display range 101 in thedisplay window 100. Meanwhile, if the object being processed as thedocument is arranged horizontally, the drawing apparatus renders thecoordinate values (X, Y) into real coordinate values (x, y) and, if theobject being processed as the document is arranged vertically, thedrawing apparatus renders the coordinate values (H−X, Y) into realcoordinate values (x, y).

[0109] The drawing apparatus draws each object being processed in thedocument, by way of processing at step S29. For example, drawing ordemonstration is made on the display, as shown in FIG. 4A, 4B, 5A or 5B,by the processing at step S29.

[0110] The drawing apparatus then sets the next drawing start position,as processing at step S40, and verifies, as processing at step S41,whether or not the entire display has been finished. If the drawingapparatus verifies that the display has not been finished, it reverts toprocessing at step S42 and, if otherwise, the processing is terminated.

[0111]FIG. 18 shows the flow of processing in case the drawing apparatusof the present embodiment draws a character in the structured documentshown in FIG. 9 and decorates the character as necessary, such asaddition of decorative objects, e.g., an emphasis line. The processingof FIG. 18 is includes e.g., in each processing step of the processingfor drawing an object being processed in each flowchart shown in FIG.17.

[0112] In FIG. 18, the drawing apparatus acquires, from the results ofthe structural analysis, previously performed, the coordinate values ofthe character drawing start position ((line direction, line feeddirection)=(X, Y)) and character sizes ((line direction, line feeddirection)=(sx, sy)).

[0113] Meanwhile, FIGS. 19A and 19B show a one character drawing areafor a horizontally arranged text, whilst FIGS. 20A and 20B show aone-character drawing area for a vertically arranged text. Moreover,FIG. 19A shows a case of drawing a decorative object upstream of aone-character drawing area of a horizontally arranged text, FIG. 19Bshows a case of drawing a decorative object downstream of aone-character drawing area of a horizontally arranged text, FIG. 20Ashows a case of drawing a decorative object upstream of a one-characterdrawing area of a vertically arranged text, FIG. 20B shows a case ofdrawing a decorative object downstream of a one-character drawing areaof a vertically arranged text. In each one-character drawing area, shownin FIGS. 19A, 19B, 20A and 20B, the directions indicated by arrows X andY denote the line direction and the line feed direction, respectively,whilst the sizes sx and sy denote the character sizes in the linedirection and in the line feed direction, respectively.

[0114] When the drawing apparatus at step S61 has acquired theinformation pertinent to the character drawing start positions andcharacter sizes, it verifies at the next step S62 whether or notdecoration is to be annexed to the displayed characters. If the drawingapparatus at step S61 has verified that decoration is to be annexed, itproceeds to step S63 and, if otherwise, it proceeds to step S68.

[0115] At step S63, the drawing apparatus verifies whether thedecorating position is upstream or downstream of the character inquestion. If the drawing apparatus has verified at step S63 that thedecorating position is in the upstream direction, it proceeds to stepS64 and so forth. If the drawing apparatus has verified at step S63 thatthe decorating position is in the downstream direction, it proceeds tostep S65 and so forth.

[0116] If it is found at step S63 that the decorating position is in theupstream direction and hence the drawing apparatus proceeds to step S64,it finds a drawing start position Y′ of a decorative object lyingupstream of the coordinate position Y in the line feed direction, asshown in FIG. 19A or 20A.

[0117] The drawing apparatus then finds, as processing at step S66, aquadrangle having respective coordinate positions (X, Y′) and (X+sx, Y)as a diagonal line ((X′ Y′)−(X+sx, Y)), and draws a decorative object inthe quadrangle. The drawing apparatus then proceeds to processing atstep S68. For example, emphasis points as decorative objects are drawnor demonstrated on the display upstream of the character, as shown inFIGS. 8A to 8C.

[0118] If it is found at step S63 that the decorating position is in thedownstream direction, and hence the drawing apparatus proceeds to stepS65, the drawing apparatus finds the drawing start position Y′ of thedecorative object lying downstream of the coordinate position Y in theline feed direction, as shown in FIG. 19B or 20B.

[0119] The drawing apparatus then finds a quadrangle having respectivecoordinate positions (X, Y+sy) and (X+sx, Y′) as a diagonal line ((X,Y+sy)−(X+sx, Y′)), and draws a decorative object in the quadrangle. Thedrawing apparatus then proceeds to processing at step S68.

[0120] At step S68, the drawing apparatus draws a character in theone-character drawing area represented by a coordinate (X, Y).

[0121] The drawing apparatus then sets the next character drawing startposition, as processing at step S69, to terminate the processing.

[0122] Referring to FIGS. 21 and 22, a specified illustrative structureof a drawing apparatus of the present embodiment is now explained.

[0123] The structured document in the present embodiment is suited toe.g., an electronic book. FIG. 21 shows a system configuration in caseof distributing an electronic book using a structured document of thepresent embodiment. FIG. 21 shows, as a drawing apparatus for drawing astructured document distributed as the electronic book, a personalcomputer 79 or a terminal dedicated to electronic books 78, including adisplay device, and a radio communication terminal 80, such as aportable telephone set, similarly including a display device.

[0124] In the system configuration, shown in FIG. 21, an electronic bookforming unit 70 may, for example, be a publishing or informationfurnishing company for preparing electronic books with a structureddocument of the present embodiment. Here, contents prepared or collectedby the contents creating unit 71 are converted by a format converter 72into a structured document of the present embodiment.

[0125] The electronic book data, created by the present electronic bookforming unit 70, are furnished to a medium producing unit 75 forproducing an electronic book medium, comprised of a packaged disc, suchas CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM (digital versatile disc-ROM), a packagedsemiconductor memory, or to a servicing center 73 distributingelectronic book data, through a communication route, and thence to aserver 74.

[0126] The electronic book medium, produced by the medium producing unit75, is distributed or sold to the terminal dedicated to electronic books78 or to a user of the personal computer 79. The electronic book data,stored in the server 74 of the servicing center 73, is distributed,responsive to requests made from the communication network, such asInternet, common network 78 or telephone network, that is from the user,or transmitted to a radio communication terminal 80 over a radio basestation 77. Moreover, electronic book data can be transmitted/receivedby e.g., data communication or mediums between the terminal dedicated toelectronic books 78, personal computer 79 and the radio communicationterminal 80.

[0127] With the above-described structure of the system of FIG. 21, theelectronic book data, distributed or received, can be demonstrated inthe terminal dedicated to electronic books 78, personal computer 79 andthe radio communication terminal 80 adapted for coping with the presentembodiment of the drawing apparatus. Since the electronic book data isrendered a structured document of the above-described embodiment, theterminal dedicated to electronic books 78, personal computer 79 and theradio communication terminal 80 is able to display the data in thehorizontally or vertically arranged form responsive to a request fromthe user or from a data distributor.

[0128]FIG. 22 schematically shows an illustrative structure of thepersonal computer 79 as an embodiment of the drawing apparatus of thepresent invention.

[0129] Referring to FIG. 22, an application program for the structureddocument of the present embodiment is installed on the personalcomputer. Based on the application program, stored in a RAM 22, a MPU(micro-processor unit) 23 demonstrates the structured document of thepresent embodiment based on the flowchart shown in FIGS. 12 and 16 to18. A ROM 21 stores initial setting values etc., of the personalcomputer.

[0130] In the hard disc of the hard disc drive 35, an applicationprogram is stored. The application program, recorded on the hard disc,is stored through a hard disc controller 34 on the RAM 22.

[0131] The electronic book data may be acquired by a disc drivecontroller 27 reproducing a disc, such as CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, loaded onthe disc drive 26, or by a memory drive controller 39 reproducing thepackaged semiconductor memory loaded in a memory drive 40.Alternatively, the electronic book data may be downloaded over the modem31 from the server 74 furnished from outside over a communication port33 or a communication port controller 32 so as to be stored e.g., in ahard disc or read out as necessary.

[0132] An image signal processing unit 36 operates under control by adisplay controller 25 to process image signals for demonstrating animage or a document, such as electronic book, on a display 24.

[0133] An audio signal processor 37 processes audio signals to route theprocessed signal to a loudspeaker 38.

[0134] An operating signal from a mouse or a keyboard 28, as accessorydevices to a routine personal computer, is captured over an interfacing(I/F) unit 29. If, as a result of operation on the mouse or the keyboard28, a command is issued for displaying the document on the display 24 byvertical or horizontal representation, the MPU 23 is responsive to thecommand to demonstrate the structured document in the horizontally orvertically arranged document on the display 24.

[0135]FIG. 23 schematically shows an illustrative structure of theterminal dedicated to electronic books 78 as a typical of the presentembodiment of the drawing apparatus.

[0136] In FIG. 23, the terminal dedicated to electronic books 78 hasinstalled thereon a program associated with the structured document ofthe present embodiment. The CPU 43 demonstrates a structured document ofthe present embodiment based on the flowchart shown in FIGS. 12 and 16to 19 by a program stored in a RAM 42. A ROM 41 serves for storinginitial setting values of the terminal dedicated to electronic books 78.The terminal dedicated to electronic books 78 may include a hard disc inwhich to store the program.

[0137] The electronic book data may be obtained by the drive controller46 reproducing a packaged semiconductor memory, loaded in a memory drive47, or may be furnished from outside on downloading through modem 45from the server 74, so as to be supplied to a picture signal processor48. If the terminal dedicated to electronic books 78 is provided with adisc drive, such as CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, or a communication port, theelectronic book data may be captured by reproducing a recording mediumsuch as CD-ROM or DVD-R or over a communication network, such asInternet.

[0138] A picture signal processor 46 performs picture signal processingin demonstrating an image or a document of an electronic book on display50 through a display controller 49.

[0139] An audio signal processor 51 processes audio signals andfurnishes the signal so processed to the loudspeaker 52.

[0140] The terminal dedicated to electronic books 78 includes, as anactuating key unit 44, a page feed key 61, a page return key 62, a pagejump key 63, a vertical/horizontal display conversion key 64, aretrieval key 65, an input key 66 and so forth. If the page feed key 61,page return key 62 or the page jump key 63 is actuated by a user of theterminal 78, the CPU 43 is responsive to the operation to effect pagefeed, page return or page jump of the electronic book responsive to theuser actuation. If the vertical/horizontal display conversion key 64 isactuated by a user of the terminal 78, the CPU 43 is responsive to theoperation to change the display of an electronic book to verticallyarranged representation or to horizontally arranged representation ofthe electronic book. If the retrieval key 65, for example, is actuatedby the user, the CPU 43 retrieves desired retrieval items in anelectronic book, responsive to the actuation of the key 65, to capturethe input information of the key 65, if it is the input key 66 that hasbeen so actuated.

[0141] If an electronic book is to be received or displayed in the radiocommunication terminal 80, the terminal is configured substantiallysimilarly to the terminal dedicated to electronic books 78 shown in FIG.23. It is noted that a ten-key, for example, may be substituted for theoperating key.

[0142] In the above-described embodiment, electronic book data asstructured document is distributed by a recording medium, such as CD-ROMor DVD-R, and an application program for displaying the structureddocument based on a flowchart shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 in the terminal 78is stored in hard disc or in a RAM. In this case, both the electronicbook data as the structured document and the aforementioned applicationprogram may be stored in one and the same recording medium.

[0143] According to the present invention, as described above, a layoutdescribing command for specifying the aforementioned relative positiondesignation is used to enable not only the horizontally written text butalso the vertically arranged text, indispensable in Japanese textrepresentation, thereby assuring more flexible text representation andelevated legibility of a stylistic document.

[0144] Heretofore, it is necessary for an editor, a document creatingsoftware (word-processor software) or a terminal to switch to a userinterface for vertical writing if a document is to be arrangedvertically. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to copewith both vertical and horizontal writing with a sole user interface.

[0145] In near future, an electronic document will possibly bedistributed in many cases to a user via a recording medium or through acommunication network as a structured document and a style documentdescribing th corresponding layout method. The present embodiment isable to cope with this case extremely readily.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0146] According to the present invention, the drawing informationincluding the object information and the layout definition informationspecifying the relative position direction with respect to the objectarranging direction is analyzed and the relative placing position of theobject in a drawing area is determined on the basis of the layoutdefinition information associated with the layout designatinginformation. The real display position corresponding to the relativeplacing position is generated responsive to the object arrangingdirection to render it possible to change the object layout, such ascharacters, figures or symbols, handled by a computer, extremelyreadily.

[0147] On the other hand, the information on one or more objects thatcan be displayed is generated and the drawing information including theobject information and the layout definition information specifying therelative position direction with respect to the object arrangingdirection is also generated to furnish the drawing information withwhich it is possible to change the object layout, such as characters,figures or symbols, handled by a computer, extremely readily.

1. An information processing method comprising: analyzing the drawinginformation at least including the information of at least one objectthat can be displayed and the layout designating information forspecifying a relative position direction with respect to the directionof arranging said object; determining a relative placing position ofsaid object in a desired drawing area based on the layout definitioninformation corresponding to the layout designating information obtainedon analysis of said drawing information; and generating the real displayposition information corresponding to the relative placing position ofsaid object responsive to said arranging direction.
 2. The informationprocessing method according to claim 1 wherein said layout definitioninformation includes the information indicating the size of said drawingarea and wherein the drawing area and the relative placing position ofsaid object in said drawing area are converted into a real displayposition.
 3. The information processing method according to claim 1wherein said object is displayed based on said real display position. 4.The information processing method according to claim 1 wherein therelative placing position of said object is updated responsive to arequest for changing the drawing direction of said object and whereinthe updated relative placing position of said object is converted to areal display position.
 5. The information processing method according toclaim 1 wherein the relative placing position of said first object isdetermined based on the layout definition information of a first object;and wherein the relative placing position of a second object isdetermined responsive to the thus determined relative placing positionof the first object.
 6. An information processing apparatus comprising:means for analyzing the drawing information at least including theinformation of at least one object that can be displayed and the layoutdesignating information for specifying a relative position directionwith respect to the direction of arranging said object; means fordetermining a relative placing position of said object in a desireddrawing area based on the layout definition information corresponding tothe layout designating information obtained on said analysis of saiddrawing information; and means for generating the real display positioninformation corresponding to the relative placing position of saidobject responsive to said arranging direction.
 7. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said layout definitioninformation includes the information indicating the size of said drawingarea and wherein said conversion means converts the drawing area and therelative placing position of said object in said drawing area into areal display position.
 8. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 6 further comprising: means for displaying the object based onsaid real display position.
 9. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 6 wherein the relative placing position determiningmeans of said object updating the relative placing position of saidobject responsive to a request for changing the drawing direction ofsaid object and wherein said conversion means converts the updatedrelative placing position of said object to a real display position. 10.The information processing apparatus according to claim 6 furthercomprising: means for inputting a request for changing the drawingdirection of said object.
 11. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 6 wherein said placing position decision meansdetermines the relative placing position of a first object is determinedbased on the layout definition information of said first object; saidplacing position decision means determining the relative placingposition of a second object responsive to the thus determined relativeplacing position of said first object.
 12. An information processingmethod comprising: generating the information of at least one objectthat can be displayed; generating the layout designating informationspecifying the relative position direction with respect to the arrangingdirection of said object; and generating the drawing information atleast including the object information and the layout designatinginformation.
 13. The information processing method according to claim 12wherein said layout designating information includes the informationrepresenting the size of said drawing area.
 14. The informationprocessing method according to claim 12 wherein said drawing informationis distributed.
 15. An information processing method comprising: meansfor generating the information of at least one object that can bedisplayed; means for generating the layout designating informationspecifying the relative position direction with respect to the arrangingdirection of said object; and means for generating the drawinginformation at least including the object information and the layoutdesignating information.
 16. The information processing method accordingto claim 15 wherein said layout designating information generating meansincludes the information representing the size of said drawing area. 17.The information processing method according to claim 15 furthercomprising: means for distributing said drawing information.
 18. Amedium for causing an information processing apparatus to execute aprogram including analyzing the drawing information at least includingthe information of at least one object that can be displayed and thelayout designating information for specifying a relative positiondirection with respect to the direction of arranging said object;determining a relative placing position of said object in a desireddrawing area based on the layout definition information corresponding tothe layout designating information obtained on analysis of said drawinginformation; and generating the real display position informationcorresponding to the relative placing position of said object responsiveto said arranging direction.
 19. A medium for causing an informationprocessing apparatus to execute a program including generating theinformation of at least one object that can be displayed; generating thelayout designating information specifying the relative positiondirection with respect to the arranging direction of said object; andgenerating the drawing information at least including the objectinformation and the layout designating information.
 20. An informationprocessing method comprising: analyzing the drawing information at leastincluding the information containing at least one object that can bedisplayed, the information pertinent to the size of said object in theline direction and in the line feed direction and the informationpertinent to the layout; acquiring the coordinate information pertinentto a display start position of said object in a drawing area based onthe result of analysis; converting the coordinate information pertinentto said display start position based on the layout-related informationobtained by the result of said analysis; and converting the coordinateinformation pertinent to the converted display start position into thereal drawing coordinate information on a drawing area.
 21. Theinformation processing method according to claim 20 wherein said drawinginformation further includes the information pertinent to the size ofsaid drawing area in the line direction and in the line feed direction;the coordinate information pertinent to the display start positionconverted being converted into the real drawing coordinate informationin a drawing area based on the information pertinent to the sizes in theline direction and in the line feed direction of said drawing area. 22.The information processing method according to claim 21 wherein, if saidobject is horizontally written, said real drawing coordinate informationis used.
 23. The information processing method according to claim 21wherein, if said object is vertically written, a difference obtained onsubtracting the coordinate value in the line direction of said realdrawing coordinate information from the size in the line feed directionof said drawing area as the coordinate value in the line direction ofsaid real drawing coordinate information.
 24. The information processingmethod according to claim 20 wherein said object is represented ondisplay means based on the real drawing coordinate information.
 25. Theinformation processing method according to claim 20 wherein, if it isverified that a further object is to be displayed on said object, thedrawing start coordinate information of said further object is generatedbased on the information pertinent to the size of said object in theline direction and in the line feed direction and on the layout-relatedinformation.
 26. The information processing method according to claim 25wherein said further object is drawn upstream or downstream of saidobject based on the drawing start coordinate information of said furtherobject.
 27. The information processing method according to claim 20wherein, if it is verified that a decorative object is to be displayedon said object, the drawing start coordinate information of saiddecorative object is generated based on the information pertinent to thesize of said object in the line direction and in the line feed directionand on the layout-related information.
 28. The information processingmethod according to claim 27 wherein decoration is drawn upstream ordownstream of said object based on the drawing start coordinateinformation of said decorative object.
 29. An information processingmethod comprising: capturing in storage means the drawing information atleast including the information containing at least one object which hasbeen transmitted and which can be displayed, the information pertinentto the size in the line direction and in the line feed direction of saidobject and the layout-related information; analyzing said drawinginformation stored in said storage means and acquiring the coordinateinformation pertinent to a display start position of said object in adrawing area based on the result of said analysis; converting thecoordinate information pertinent to the display start position based onthe layout-related information acquired by said results of analysis; anddemonstrating said object on said display means based on said realdrawing coordinate information.
 30. The information processing methodaccording to claim 29 wherein the transmitted drawing informationfurther includes the information pertinent to the size in the linedirection and in the line feed direction of the drawing area and whereinthe coordinate information pertinent to the converted display startposition is converted into the real drawing coordinate information onsaid drawing area based on the information pertinent to said size in theline direction and in the line feed direction of said drawing area. 31.The information processing method according to claim 29 wherein, if saidobject is a horizontally arranged object, said real drawing coordinateinformation is used.
 32. The information processing method according toclaim 29 wherein, if said object is a horizontally arranged object, thedifference obtained on subtracting said real drawing coordinateinformation from the size in the line feed direction of said drawingarea is used as the coordinate value in the line direction of said realdrawing coordinate information.
 33. The information processing methodaccording to claim 29 wherein, if it is verified that a further objectis to be demonstrated on said object, the drawing start coordinateinformation of said further object is generated based on the informationpertinent to said size in the line direction and in the line feeddirection of said object and the layout-related information.
 34. Theinformation processing method according to claim 33 wherein said furtherobject is represented upstream or downstream of said object based on thedrawing start coordinate information of said further object.
 35. Theinformation processing method according to claim 29 wherein, if it isverified that a decorative object is to be added to said object, thedrawing start coordinate information of said decorative object isgenerated based on the information pertinent to the size in the linedirection and in the line feed direction of said object and on thelayout-related information.
 36. The information processing methodaccording to claim 35 wherein decoration is demonstrated upstream ordownstream of said object based on the drawing start coordinateinformation of said decorative object.
 37. An information processingapparatus comprising: means for receiving the drawing information atleast including the information containing at least one object which hasbeen transmitted and which can be displayed, the information pertinentto the size in the line direction and in the line feed direction of saidobject and the layout-related information; storage means for storingsaid drawing information received by said receiving means; signalprocessing means for analyzing said drawing information read out fromsaid storage means, acquiring the coordinate information pertinent to adisplay start position of said object in a drawing area based on theresult of said analysis, converting the coordinate information pertinentto the display start position based on the layout-related informationacquired by said results of analysis and for converting the coordinateinformation pertinent to the converted display start position into thereal drawing coordinate information on the drawing area of said displaymeans; and control means for demonstrating said object on said displaymeans based on said real drawing coordinate information from said signalprocessing means.
 38. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 37 wherein the drawing information transmitted further includesthe information on the size in the line direction and in the line feeddirection of said drawing area and wherein said signal processing meansconverts the coordinate information pertinent to the converted displaystart position into the real drawing coordinate information on thedrawing area based on the information pertinent to said size in the linedirection and in the line feed direction of said drawing area.
 39. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 37 wherein, if saidobject is a horizontally arranged object, said control means uses thereal drawing coordinate information to display said object on saiddisplay means.
 40. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 37 wherein, if said object is a horizontally arranged object, saidcontrol means uses the difference obtained on subtracting said realdrawing coordinate information from the size in the line feed directionof said drawing area as the coordinate value in the line direction ofsaid real drawing coordinate information to display said object on saiddisplay means.
 41. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 37 wherein, if it is verified that a further object is to bedemonstrated on said object, the drawing start coordinate information ofsaid further object is generated based on the information pertinent tosaid size in the line direction and in the line feed direction of saidobject and the layout-related information.
 42. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 41 wherein said control meansdisplays said further object upstream or downstream of said object basedon the drawing start coordinate information of said further object fromsaid signal processing means.
 43. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 37 wherein, if it is verified that a decorativeobject is to be added to said object, said signal processing meansgenerates the drawing start coordinate information of said decorativeobject based on the information pertinent to the size in the linedirection and in the line feed direction of said object and on thelayout-related information.
 44. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 43 wherein said control means displays the decorationupstream or downstream of said object based on the drawing startcoordinate information of said decorative object from said signalprocessing means.
 45. An information processing apparatus comprising:means for reading out the drawing information from storage means storingsaid drawing information, said drawing information including at leastthe information containing at least one object which has beentransmitted and which can be displayed, the information pertinent to thesize in the line direction and in the line feed direction of said objectand the layout-related information; display means for displaying saidobject; signal processing means for analyzing said drawing informationread out from said storage means, acquiring the coordinate informationpertinent to a display start position of said object in a drawing areabased on the result of said analysis, converting the coordinateinformation pertinent to the display start position based on thelayout-related information acquired by said results of analysis and forconverting the coordinate information pertinent to the converted displaystart position into the real drawing coordinate information on thedrawing area of said display means; and control means for demonstratingsaid object on said display means based on said real drawing coordinateinformation from said signal processing means.
 46. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 45 wherein the drawinginformation stored in said recording medium further includes theinformation on the size in the line direction and in the line feeddirection of said drawing area and wherein said signal processing meansconverts the coordinate information pertinent to the converted displaystart position into the real drawing coordinate information on thedrawing area based on the information pertinent to said size in the linedirection and in the line feed direction of said drawing area.
 47. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 45 wherein, if saidobject is a horizontally arranged object, said control means uses thereal drawing coordinate information to display said object on saiddisplay means.
 48. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 45 wherein, if said object is a horizontally arranged object, saidcontrol means uses the difference obtained on subtracting said realdrawing coordinate information from the size in the line feed directionof said drawing area as the coordinate value in the line direction ofsaid real drawing coordinate information to display said object on saiddisplay means.
 49. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 45 wherein, if it is verified that a further object is to bedemonstrated on said object, the drawing start coordinate information ofsaid further object is generated based on the information pertinent tosaid size in the line direction and in the line feed direction of saidobject and on the layout-related information.
 50. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 49 wherein said control meansdisplays said further object upstream or downstream of said object basedon the drawing start coordinate information of said further object fromsaid signal processing means.
 51. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 45 wherein, if it is verified that a decorativeobject is to be added to said object, said signal processing meansgenerates the drawing start coordinate information of said decorativeobject based on the information pertinent to the size in the linedirection and in the line feed direction of said object and on thelayout-related information.
 52. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 51 wherein said control means displays the decorationupstream or downstream of said object based on the drawing startcoordinate information of said decorative object from said signalprocessing means.